I just hate that the home opener--always a sellout--features the Yankees, who, if not a sell-out, at least draw larger than normal crowds than the other teams do. It's a shame we won't get that double-dose of revenue, but hopefully the Tribe plays well enough that it draws better than it has the past few years to help make up for it.

Plus, at least a sell-out crowd will drown out the Yankee fans in attendance. Man, I hate those guys. Mid-season, I swear they outnumber the Indians fans in attendance.

Adverb Harry wrote:...Plus, at least a sell-out crowd will drown out the Yankee fans in attendance. Man, I hate those guys. Mid-season, I swear they outnumber the Indians fans in attendance.

Hah, maybe not this year? We'll see as the season progresses but I'm still laughing over the part that the vaunted Skankees have padded their roster with Tribe cast-offs. Just hoping it doesn't come back and bite us this week. I have a very disgusting skankee fan who lives across the street from us. Hope I can point and laugh at him this year like he did to me the end of the season in 2005...

Heading out to do my little volunteer stint early today. Supposed to be there from 3-5 but I want to be home by 3:30. What are they gonna do, fire me???

I've tried 'em all, I really have, and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball.~~~Annie Savoy-"Bull Durham"

Adverb Harry wrote:I just hate that the home opener--always a sellout--features the Yankees, who, if not a sell-out, at least draw larger than normal crowds than the other teams do. It's a shame we won't get that double-dose of revenue

But games 2, 3, and 4 would probably see sub 10k crowds without the Yankees in town. I expect they'll see enough extra fans over the next three days to more than make up for it.

All of the above groups include guys that can throw 88-91 with little command. All guys capable of starting the 7-8-9 hitters of a line-up with 78 mph breaking balls to fall behind.

If this clown is in the rotation in May they're either stupid, stubborn or a combination of both. There ain't a guy on GGE takin' the stuff he has and makin' it work, No. Chance. As in Andy Marte's plate approach. No. Chance.

His off-speed and secondary stuff looked good but his fastball was sitting at 89 mph. He was at 93mph against a better lineup in Toronto and came through for the team. I just hope last night was a blip, but if 89mph is going to be the norm then scenes like last night will be the norm.

"There is but one thing of real value: to cultivate truth and justice and to live without anger in the midst of lying and unjust men"

British_Pharaoh wrote:His off-speed and secondary stuff looked good but his fastball was sitting at 89 mph. He was at 93mph against a better lineup in Toronto and came through for the team. I just hope last night was a blip, but if 89mph is going to be the norm then scenes like last night will be the norm.

Besides the fact his best days used to be 95-98 and are now 91-93. Let's pretend that isn't a problem.

Now we have someone who is so blocked, either mentally or physically, that 5 days apart he goes from 93 to 89.

If you don't understand what makes these guys (MLBers) better than everyone else, it is pretty simple. They are creatures of habit and consistency. They do the same thing every day and expect to get the same results. Their mechanics are born of muscle memory built up through millions of repetitions. They can tweak when something feels wrong. They can adjust on the fly. Without thinking about it.

So, when one combines a physical problem and then complexes it by screwing up the one thing they can't screw up...you are fucked. As he is, and therefore we are.

There might be days that the planets line up perfectly and he is sitting at 93 with late movement. Those will be the exceptions. The rule will be yesterday. Sorry.

Listen to Tito talk about him. They understand the mechanics are a lost cause. So they spent all Spring Training trying to trick him into thinking he was Ubaldo.

Not to mention his off-speed stuff "looks" better because guys are spitting on that and waiting for a fucking pumpkin at 88mph. And if he happens to drop two off speed pitches for strikes then... well... so what? He can't get a ball by them. They have to battle a bit more being down 0-2 but it sure as shit ain't be buried at 0-2 with no prayer against 2010 Ubaldo.

bac5665 wrote:Is there a rash of people arguing that 2010 Ubaldo is coming back?

I sat amongst about 35,000 such people yesterday.

My biggest issue with the guy is he still approaches the game like h'e's 2010 Ubaldo. He disgustingly let Stewart ( a freaking catcher ) steal a base yesterday without Sanana even being able to make a throw. Next ball is dropped into CF and it's 5-3.

Inexcusable.

You can argue that a guy like Tomlin throws no harder and that's true. But he controls the rest of the game, hits spots and lives on a thin margin for error.

Ubaldo won't adjust and do that or he's incapable of it.

Point being, if there's anything resembling another candidate for a rotation spot he needs to be afforded the opportunity regardless of the effect it has on Jimenez.

Sooner rather than later. And the Indians, more than us, need to recognize that.

I guess I just assume that when you rant about obvious things that your talking to us, rather than the people who don't read these forums.

But besides that, yes, you are absolutely right that the FO needs to keep Ubaldo on as short a leash as possible. He cannot pitch like he did yesterday in more than a few more starts and not be promptly sent down. At least Jeremy Sowers gave us two times through the batting order before becoming fungus.

peeker643 wrote:My biggest issue with the guy is he still approaches the game like h'e's 2010 Ubaldo. He disgustingly let Stewart ( a freaking catcher ) steal a base yesterday without Sanana even being able to make a throw. Next ball is dropped into CF and it's 5-3.

Inexcusable.

Bingo. I can live with getting rocked, a la Brett Myers, because it happens. That shit can't happen.

Let's put it this way. Pitch F/X was classifying some of Jimenez's FASTBALLS as changups in yesterday's start. And by some, I mean that Pitch F/X has Jimenez throwing 51 changeups out of 91 pitches. Max velo was 91.5 on his 11 classified four-seamers.

Three swings and misses. Had 11 against Toronto I believe.

He's beyond repair.

I'd send him down on the Ricky Romero path. Send him to Single-A. Try to salvage something by June/July, at least to the point where he can be an injury replacement. And if somebody claims him on waivers, say thank you.

Corey Kluber cannot be worse than this guy. Carrasco can take his spot when Kazmir comes back and Kluber can be your 6th starter. Bauer as a 7th and emergency option.

A God Damn dead man would understand that if a minor league bus in any city took a real sharp right turn, a Zack McCalister would likely fall out. - Lead Pipe

If anyone read the article regarding his transition from position player to pitcher it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. He flat out says he didn't want to nor did he enjoy pitching. You simply never lose that mentality 100% after playing the game for so long. I'd take a Huff/Sowers/Tomlin/McCalister - guys who obviously want to compete and approach their job with a positive work ethic than Ubaldo. Everything he, as well as some of what Francona has said, is more or less a defeatist mentality. Pitcher is about the last fucking place I want someone with a woe is me attitude. Nut up, put the hours in and keep your focus. #2 might be hard because of muscle memory and his body not allowing him to get the velocity, but walks and horrible location is definitely part mental.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.